Pages

19 March 2015

Goals take work. That’s not news to you. You write it down. You set the intention. You take steps to make it happen. You fall off the wagon. You start again. You know the drill. Goals are not for the faint of heart.

The game changer for me came when I learned to ask myself this one question: “What kind of woman do I want to become to achieve this goal?”

Check out this example. 2015 is the year of “strong body” for me. I have a goal that sees me changing my lifestyle resulting in a more active, slimmer and conscientious person when it comes to the benefits of good health. I’m not that woman yet.

I know the art of goal achievement - after all I make a living helping people achieve goals. I understand that goals take a lot of courage and determination.

The kind of person that I need to be to achieve this health and fitness goal is one with the courage to change. I have to be the kind of person who says no to a sale on chocolate cakes at the grocery store. I have to be a woman who jumps out of bed and into sneakers. I also have to be a woman who speaks a truth. Those chicken wings and nachos will not cut it if I am really committed to becoming a strong me.

I’m not that kind of woman yet. That’s the cold hard truth. But I will become that woman. I will gently morph into the type of person who is able to achieve that goal. It won’t be easy but a goal worth having is not one that is simple.

Have a look back at your goals and ask yourself the tough question: “What kind of woman do you need to become to achieve that goal?”

So you have chosen a career in trades and you want to be amazing in your profession. They are lofty goals and many of us who have gone down that road have a real appreciation for what it takes to be someone who is respected in that workplace. What kind of person do you need to be to achieve that goal? You need to be the type of person who imposes rules upon herself even when those rules are not stated.

Here are my three cardinal rules for women in trades:

“Don’t get your honey where you make your money.” Show up on Day One as a professional. You’re not in a meat market. It’s not a pick-up joint. It’s a work place. Act accordingly. When we were young women in the army, we had a strict rule against fraternization. We tried to break it, of course. We also saw what happened to the people who did. If you ignore the rule, there are consequences. Maybe you won’t be called back to work next time you’re laid off because too much drama is hard to deal with. Women always get the blame; you don’t have to like it, but it is the truth.

Don’t tell dirty jokes, use sexual innuendos or comment on people’s body parts. Don’t open that door. You give them an inch and they will take a mile. Actions escalate. Today it’s a joke, but six months from now it’s a charge of sexual harassment with him saying, “She started it.” Don’t get yourself in that situation. Don’t accept the rope and you won’t hang yourself.

Observe the 3B rule: no breasts, no bellies and no bums. People who know me know that I’m well endowed in certain areas and I am proud of the girls, but when it comes to the workplace, it is minimize, minimize, minimize. Not the time or the place to be a diva.

Seems like common sense, but people who get in trouble have often ignored one of these cardinal rules.